


Touch You Not

by kythen



Series: Touch You Not [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Kuroo Tetsurou, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Courtship, Getting Together, Jealousy, KuroDai Weekend 2018, M/M, Miscommunication, Omega Sawamura Daichi, Pining, Possessive Behavior, Scent Marking, Teachers, daichi is slightly touch-starved, kuroo is touch-shy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 21:50:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16921044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kythen/pseuds/kythen
Summary: Kurodai Mid-Birthday Weekend 2018: Control -Gods AU /Jealousy AUKuroo is somehow Tokyo’s most eligible alpha. And yet, he won't touch Daichi.Daichi can’t deal with this sensibly.





	Touch You Not

"Sorry I'm late. Ready to go, Sawamura?"

Daichi looks up from his phone and sees Kuroo hovering over him, with a smile wide on his face that anyone who didn't know him well enough would most certainly mistake for a smirk. But it is a smile and it is directed at Daichi, and that alone makes Daichi feel warm on the inside as he smiles back up at Kuroo.

When Daichi gets up from the bench, Kuroo takes a half-step back, a movement so subtle that Daichi wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't already been well-attuned to it, and his heart sinks. Kuroo is always like this around Daichi, creating bits of space between them so that they never touch or even brush against each other. It is almost as if he is scared of coming into contact with Daichi and Daichi thinks he knows why, frustratingly enough, but he doesn't want Kuroo to do this.

Even though they have been friends since their days in university, Kuroo doesn't throw a casual arm around his shoulders or nudge him or even so much as touches shoulders with him like he does with their alpha and beta friends. It isn't as if Daichi wants just any alpha to touch him—he just wants Kuroo to be a little more comfortable around him, to be less hyperaware whenever any of their body parts are on a collision course with each other, to be a little less self-conscious about their scents mingling.

So if Kuroo won't do it, Daichi will. He stands up and oversteps a little bit, just enough so that he wobbles and grazes Kuroo's arm with his, falling just within his space. He sees Kuroo's throat bob as he swallows, his mouth falling open to taste Daichi's scent instinctively as he comes close to him. Daichi freezes for the slightest moment too as Kuroo's scent wafts over him and he inhales deeply, his body tingling as he savours the warm coffee and chocolate scent he has come to associate with Kuroo.

That is all he lets himself do, even though all he really _wants_ to do is grab Kuroo by the lapels of his coat and bury his nose in the crook of his neck, drinking in his scent greedily. Daichi exhales shakily, bringing himself back to the moment at hand. He isn't brave enough to do that, not when Kuroo shies away from his touch, refusing to even leave the slightest trace of his scent on Daichi. Maybe it is Kuroo's way of letting Daichi down gently, of telling him that he likes where they stand now, as just friends and nothing more. Whatever it is, Daichi takes it as a standing rejection. Kuroo is popular with omegas and betas, and even the occasional alpha, and in the face of all that, Daichi just doesn't know where he stands with Kuroo.

"So, what held you up today?" Daichi asks as they fall into step with each other.

"Mmm, you know. Class runs late and students have questions after class," Kuroo replies. "They're an inquisitive bunch."

"Does this mean that we're going to see high scorers from your class then?" Daichi asks teasingly. Kuroo is a good teacher and the students taking Kuroo's Science classes have been gradually improving ever since Kuroo started as a teacher here. But he has also heard students talking about "Kuroo-sensei" in hushed tones, whispering about his attractiveness and his availability, so he suspects that the students who stay back to ask him questions after class may not just have their grades in mind.

"They're my kids so of course they're gonna do great," Kuroo boasts loftily. He turns his gaze on Daichi, a sharp-edged smirk on his lips as he asks, "How about you, Sawamura-sensei? Going to give me a run for their money in the Literature department?"

"Statistically, the students have been doing better in my subject than yours," Daichi points out.

"Not for long. I've got a good feeling about this batch. They're mostly science nerds."

"You mean like you?" Daichi grins.

"Takes one to know one," Kuroo agrees, without even bothering to deny it.

They reach the family restaurant in good time and join the queue beginning to form at the front door. It is dinnertime, which means that the place is packed to the seams but the queue is moving at a steady pace as customers file out after their meals. On most days, this is where Daichi and Kuroo have dinner together after school since it is almost perfectly located in the middle of the triangle made up of school, Daichi's apartment, and Kuroo's house.

Daichi likes the food served here and the atmosphere of the place. The staff are friendly too and they do their work well. His only problem is that the staff get a little _too_ friendly at times because Daichi walks in here with what has to be Tokyo's most eligible alpha aka Kuroo Tetsurou. Most of them keep to longing looks, extra portions, and free desserts, which Daichi can still deal with, but recently, one of their newer omega waitresses had taken one look at Kuroo and decided that he was the one for her.

Not that Daichi blames her, considering that it is, well, Kuroo, but she is bold and forward and by her first week here, she had already slipped Kuroo her name and number on the back of a receipt. Daichi doesn't know if Kuroo had followed up on that but she had continued making aggressive advances on Kuroo even after that, which had made Daichi feel like climbing into Kuroo's lap and sitting on him like he belonged there.

Omega instincts were weird sometimes and the first time his territorial instincts had flared up in relation to Kuroo, Daichi had downed an entire cup of water and announced his intention of going to the washroom before fleeing there immediately. He had stayed in there long enough for Kuroo to worry and for the manager to come knocking on the door, but he had managed to get away with feigning illness. Something in his face must have convinced Kuroo because he wouldn't stop fretting over Daichi, going as far as to see him to his apartment and hovering over him like Daichi was about to keel over at any moment.

The omega waitress activates every single territorial instinct Daichi possesses when it comes to Kuroo and Daichi tenses up as she comes to greet them at the door, her eyes lighting up as she sees Kuroo. Her scent is lightly alluring, a sweet strawberry scent that perfumes the air around her, and Daichi bites back a scowl, fighting back the urge to loop his arm through the crook of Kuroo's arm and tug him against him.

"Table for two again, Kuroo-san?" she asks sweetly, looking up at Kuroo from beneath long lashes, and Daichi despairs because how does he compete with strawberries and long lashes?

"Same as always for Sawamura and me," Kuroo says agreeably. "Thanks, Ai-chan."

"I'll get a table ready for you ASAP," Ai chirps. "Unfortunately, you might have to wait for a bit. You know what the dinner crowd's like."

"No worries. I'm used to waiting." Kuroo shrugs and turns to Daichi, smiling to catch his attention. "How about you, Sawamura? Hungry?"

"Starving," Daichi says flatly, staring into the crowded restaurant and willing Ai to go away.

"Didn't have much for lunch, did you?" Ai says sympathetically, turning her fluttery gaze on Daichi for approximately a tenth of a second before going right back to Kuroo. "Work must be rough for you. I remember my days as a high school student and I feel bad for all the teachers who taught my classes."

A family exits the restaurant at this point of time and the father pushes a pram through the narrow space leading to the door. Daichi steps to the side to make space for them to pass by and Kuroo does the same, making space for Daichi to squeeze in beside him. Daichi inches closer to Kuroo as the pram goes by and he knocks his shoulder against Kuroo's deliberately, brushing his body against Kuroo's from shoulder to hip and leaning into him. It is incredibly petty of him but he can't help but sneak a look at Ai as he leans against Kuroo's side, and she gazes back at him coolly, looking at him properly for the first time since Kuroo and him walked in.

"I think a table's been freed up so let me go and check on that for you," she tells them, her eyes sliding back to Kuroo as she turns away from them, suddenly in a hurry to secure a table for them.

In the meantime, Daichi is adamant about standing here and leaning against Kuroo the whole time, until the scent of strawberries fades from the vicinity. This close to Kuroo, the scent of coffee and chocolate coils around Daichi and Daichi turns his face towards it instinctively, nuzzling his cheek absently against Kuroo's shoulder and smudging his scent on Kuroo. It might be selfish of him to think this way but Daichi wishes that the only scent Kuroo would be able to smell is _his_. If they were bonded partners, Kuroo wouldn't have the entirety of Tokyo going after him and Daichi wouldn't feel like the worst friend in the world whenever his omega instincts scream at him to get close to Kuroo and scent mark him whenever another potential suitor approaches him.

"Are you going faint from hunger on me, Sawamura?" Kuroo asks and Daichi jumps guiltily, lifting his cheek from Kuroo's shoulder. He had let his instincts overwhelm him again, seeing green the moment some other omega had started making a move on Kuroo. They aren't even dating and here Daichi is trying to leave his scent on Kuroo as if Kuroo is his mate.

But Daichi can't bring himself to move away, keeping that warm line of contact where they touch from shoulder to hip between them as he rests his head lightly on Kuroo's shoulder. It feels too nice, being close to Kuroo like this, and Daichi wishes that he didn't have to find excuses to touch Kuroo.

"Can't... hang on... I'm already seeing the light..." he jokes, letting his head loll against Kuroo's shoulder.

"We're going to be seated soon so just hang on for a while longer." Kuroo laughs. "How about I treat you to gyoza? All that waiting for me must have sapped your energy."

Daichi perks up. "You know I'm not going to say no to free food so you better make good on your word."

"Me? Go back on my offer of free food to you? That's the scariest grudge to pick up, you know, Sawamura."

Ai returns as Daichi attempts to headbutt Kuroo in the jaw and she keeps up a steady stream of chatter directed at Kuroo as she leads them to their table, even though Daichi can sense her displeasure directed at him, like a knife pointed straight at his throat. Moving to their table and sitting on opposite sides of it had forced Kuroo away from Daichi, but after that brief contact, Daichi can smell himself on Kuroo, the clean, woody smell of a forest lingering around him, and he is sure that she had picked up on that too.

"So, what would you like to eat?" she pushes on nevertheless, favouring Kuroo's side of the table, determined to stay as close as possible to Kuroo in the limited time she has with him.

That is one advantage Daichi has over her: he gets to see Kuroo in school and during volleyball practice, over dinner and even on weekends at times. Kuroo is the closest friend he has in Tokyo after he made the move from Miyagi, and when he isn't working or resting, he spends all his time with Kuroo. Going by that, it is a wonder that their scents hadn't mingled by now.

"One set of gyoza to start with first please," Kuroo says to her as he gives the menu a cursory glance—they have eaten here enough times to have practically memorised it. His eyes flick up to Daichi and there is a hint of wicked humour in them as he adds, "It's an emergency. I have to keep Sawamura from keeling over in hunger."

Ai titters but the dark cloud hanging over her hasn't gone away since Daichi started leaning on Kuroo and she leaves the faint scent of scorched strawberries in her wake as she goes off to give their order. Daichi doesn't look up from the menu to see the daggers she probably shoots in his direction behind Kuroo's back, but a sense of smugness and relief bubbles up from somewhere within him.

\---

Volleyball practice runs late again and by the time they chase all the boys off the court, yelling at them to get some proper food and rest and to do their homework, night has fallen and the temperature has dropped. It isn't quite the month for snow yet but the way Kuroo goes on and on about the cold, Daichi would have expected everywhere to be blanketed in white and freezing his toes off—Kuroo’s words, not Daichi's. Tokyo's winters aren't even that cold compared to winter out in the countryside and Daichi tells Kuroo that, only to be met with an affronted look.

"Not all of us are built for the cold weather, Sawamura," Kuroo says, looking offended as he rummages around in his bag. "Not all of us radiate heat and warmth like a furnace and can melt snow just by looking at it."

 _"Well, then you can just come over here and huddle with me,"_ Daichi wants to say but he bites his tongue. Kuroo is so stubborn in his ways, retaining that invisible gap between Daichi and him even when they are locking up the gym and the only warmth to be found in the premises is from their bodies.

He knows that Kuroo hates the cold and he looks downright miserable, sniffling pathetically and shivering from head to toe. Even his hair seems like it is drooping, falling over his eyes in ragged strands that make Daichi's fingers itch to comb them back into place. Daichi turns the key in its lock firmly and puts it in his bag, trying to distract himself from the misery oozing off Kuroo before he ends up doing something weird, like cuddling Kuroo and then having to face Kuroo politely trying to disentangle himself from Daichi because of his aversion to having Daichi close.

Kuroo is still rummaging through his bag when Daichi is ready to leave and he isn't wearing his jacket, his bare arms rippling with goosebumps in his short-sleeved shirt. There is a frantic air about him now and he doesn't even budge when Daichi inches closer to him, concerned.

"Where's your jacket?" Daichi asks him, putting himself between Kuroo and a chilly draft blowing their way. Unlike Kuroo, he is tucked into his bright red school jacket, warm and toasty between his natural body heat and the plush material of the jacket.

"I think I must have left it at home," Kuroo replies glumly, finally giving up his search when it looks like his bag won't magically produce his jacket. "I overslept today and was in a hurry this morning so I must have forgotten to grab it."

"You can take mine," Daichi says, shrugging off his jacket. "I can deal with the cold."

"I can't." Kuroo looks at Daichi, aghast. "It's _cold_."

"I'm not that cold," Daichi folds his jacket over his forearm and holds it out to Kuroo, "so you can take it, since it seems like you need it more than I do."

Kuroo actually takes a step back, his eyes darting between the proffered jacket and Daichi. "Keep it. You might not feel cold now, but then it'll suddenly hit you on your way home and then I'll stumble across a Sawa-sicle on my way to school the next morning and feel guilty for the rest of my life because I took your jacket."

Daichi snorts. " _You're_ more likely to end up as a Kuroo-sicle if I just leave you be. Who's the furnace between you and me again?"

"Sawamura," Kuroo says, a hint of seriousness entering his eyes as he meets Daichi's gaze. "I can't take it."

"It's just a _jacket_ ," Daichi says, heat beginning to flare up in him. Sure, it had his scent all over it since it was his, but if the alternative was for Kuroo to freeze and possibly catch a cold in the process, Daichi can't see why Kuroo can't just swallow whatever alpha pride he is holding so tightly onto and just _take the damn jacket_.

"You'll get cold," Kuroo insists. "Sawamura, I don't want you to be cold."

"I'm told you, I'm _fine_. You're the one who needs the jacket more than I do so just _take it_ , Kuroo." Daichi stomps over to Kuroo and Kuroo—the _nerve_ of him—actually looks around for an escape route, only to find himself pinned between the gym door and a fuming Daichi.

Daichi shoves the balled-up jacket into Kuroo's chest, glaring up at Kuroo and daring him to not take it. Something in Daichi's demeanour must finally convince Kuroo because he relents, his hands coming up to cradle the jacket, his fingers brushing against Daichi's hand. Daichi withdraws, turning away from Kuroo and trying to put a lid on the bubbling pot of emotions raging in him. As an omega, there isn't anything more hurtful than having the alpha he likes reject something of his that vehemently. As a friend, it hurts far worse because he just wants Kuroo to stop being cold and miserable and he had to fight Kuroo over it just because Kuroo didn't want his scent on him.

 _"Just hook up with someone else already,"_ Daichi thinks moodily, and even if it is just a thought, he takes it back immediately. Even if Kuroo won't touch him, the thought of Kuroo touching someone else familiarly, intimately, makes Daichi's chest ache. _"Just touch me already,"_ Daichi thinks longingly and the weight of what he feels for Kuroo threatens to swamp and devour him on the spot.

"Sawamura." A hand tugs at his bag, cutting right through his thoughts, and Daichi turns to look at Kuroo. He is bundled up in Daichi's jacket, the sleeves ending too short on his wrists and the material straining at the shoulders. But the rest of it fits nicely, too nicely, showing off his leanly muscled figure even under the thick material of the jacket, and he smells—

He smells like _Daichi_ and Daichi goes red as he breathes in the intimate tangle of their scents, his clean green forest scent layered over Kuroo's warm coffee and chocolate.

"Sawamura, we should get going." Kuroo tugs at his bag again, the gesture usually light and playful, now heavy and urgent. It must be cold because Kuroo has his nose buried in the collar of Daichi's jacket and his hazel eyes are glazed over, a faint dusting of pink lighting up his cheeks. Judging by the grip he has on Daichi's bag, Daichi thinks that Kuroo might actually start dragging him along if he has to tug on his bag again so Daichi shakes himself out of his stupor and starts moving.

Daichi doesn't know if he wants to stick close to Kuroo or not, confused as he is by how strongly he can smell himself on Kuroo. It sends his senses into haywire, his omega instincts triumphant about this one victory—even if it isn't even a victory of any sort. It is just Daichi trying to keep Kuroo from freezing in temperatures that aren't even considering cold to Daichi by lending him his jacket.

At the forked road where they usually part to get to their respective homes, Daichi opens his mouth to tell Kuroo to keep his jacket and return it another time. He anticipates another round of arguing and insisting and Kuroo trying to take off his jacket to return to him now. What he does not expect is Kuroo grabbing him by the bag before he can even get a word out, his eyes gleaming gold in the lamplights as he looks at Daichi and says, "Come home with me tonight."

Daichi stares at Kuroo. He can count the number of times Kuroo has invited him over, let alone asked him to _stay_ over, on both hands in all their years of knowing each other. Under the lamplights, the colour is high on Kuroo's cheeks and perspiration trickles down the side of his face. He doesn't look so good, his breath coming in fast, shallow pants behind the collar of Daichi's jacket, and Daichi worries about him. Did Kuroo already catch a cold after being exposed to the weather for that short period of time? Just how vulnerable to the cold is Kuroo anyway?

Kuroo blinks and the strangely intense light in his eyes dims slightly, his fingers loosening on Daichi's bag as he elaborates quickly, his voice muffled by Daichi's jacket collar, "It's a much shorter walk to my house than your apartment. I'm still wearing your jacket so you have to be freezing, Sawamura. We've got a spare room and everything and tomorrow's a Saturday so you don't have to worry about school. We can take care of you just fine."

Daichi bites his lip. He would _love_ to stay over at Kuroo's but if Kuroo was just doing it out of obligation... He doesn't want Kuroo to have to tiptoe around him in his own house. "I told you not to worry about it."

"I'm not. Actually, I just remembered, you haven't had dinner yet, have you? My grandma always cooks extras that we can't finish so take it as you doing us and the food a favour." Kuroo switches tactics immediately and Daichi knows it, but he _is_ hungry and the bites of homemade food that Kuroo feeds him from time to time are delicious.

He shoots a dirty look at Kuroo and Kuroo looks innocently back at him, with wide eyes and the smirk of someone who knows that they are winning. His eyes are still glassy and his face still damp with perspiration so Daichi convinces himself that he is following Kuroo home for Kuroo's own good as he relents, "Fine. Just for the food."

Kuroo smiles giddily, his hand still tangled in the strap of Daichi's bag, and Daichi's heart thumps alarmingly in his chest. Fever or cold aside, Kuroo looks good in his jacket, even though they have the exact same school jacket, all wrapped up in Daichi's scent and smiling at him in the warm glow of the lamplights. Daichi kinda, _really wants_ , to kiss him now and he bounces slightly on the balls of his feet, stopping himself just in time from tiptoeing up and stealing a kiss from Kuroo's lips.

 _"He's so bad for my health,"_ Daichi thinks weakly, firmly grounding himself by planting his feet solidly on the ground. It is no wonder that half of Tokyo is in love with Kuroo when just one smile from Kuroo gives Daichi all sorts of urges.

"Come on then." Kuroo tugs on Daichi's bag playfully, leading him away from the road to Daichi's tiny one-room apartment and towards his own house.

As far as Daichi can recall, Kuroo lives with his father and his grandparents. It was why Kuroo had been so reluctant to take on the responsibility of coaching the volleyball team even though he loves volleyball. His grandparents were getting on in age and Daichi knows how much Kuroo loves and cares for them, wanting to be around them as much as possible. Having to manage club activities would take too much time away from them.

Daichi knows that Kuroo had only applied to co-coach the volleyball team because of him, even though Kuroo denies it. The school principal, with his age-old prejudices about alphas and omegas, had been reluctant to let Daichi take on a coaching post in a sports team, citing vague reasons about heats and pheromones to explain why Daichi wouldn't be able to cope. Daichi has _been_ in volleyball teams for almost all his life and has captained most of them, and he had been more than ready to let the principal know exactly what he thought about his "reasons" for keeping Daichi away from a post he was more than qualified for.

Then the principal had suddenly relented and the next thing Daichi knew, his application had been approved and he was to co-coach the volleyball team with Kuroo as the faculty advisor. The principal had thought an alpha would balance out Daichi's "omega traits", even though he had no qualms about letting alphas coach the other sports teams on their own, and Daichi had nearly ground his teeth down into fine dust having to face the principal's condescending tone when he said that.

He had fought with Kuroo over that, hurt, angry, and upset that Kuroo had to do that for him and sacrifice his precious time with his family for Daichi. But it had been a misplaced anger when it was really the principal Daichi was furious at. So instead of prolonging his fight with Kuroo, Daichi had decided to channel all his frustration into coaching the team to the best of his ability. They had a pretty good shot of going to the Nationals this year and Daichi can't wait for the moment that he can throw that victory in the principal's face.

"We're here." Kuroo ushers Daichi in through a cheerfully painted gate and right up to the front door, his hand falling away from Daichi's bag as he searches for his keys. As soon as he gets the door open, Kuroo pokes his head in and calls out, "I'm home! And I brought Sawamura with me!"

"Sawamura-kun?" a familiar, kindly voice asks from inside the house and Daichi bows his head in greeting as he sees Kuroo's grandmother hobble into the hallway, her eyes lighting up warmly as soon as she sees him.

"It's been a while, obaasan," Daichi greets her.

"It has. Tetsurou doesn't bring you home enough," she tells him. "I always make extras in hopes of seeing your handsome face around but Tetsurou just doesn't pass on my invitation."

Daichi glances at Kuroo and he looks embarrassed, ducking his chin into Daichi's jacket collar. Kuroo's grandmother looks at Kuroo too, with a teasing twinkle in her eyes. Then her gaze sharpens as she looks at Kuroo closely, her nostrils flaring as she takes a deep breath. "Tetsurou, is that Sawamura-kun's jacket that you're wearing?"

Kuroo fidgets, his hand tugging at the hem of Daichi's jacket. "Yeah. He lent it to me."

His grandmother looks disapprovingly at him. "You shouldn't impose on Sawamura-kun like that. He shouldn't be smelling of an alpha when he doesn't have a partner. It'll trouble him."

Daichi steps in hurriedly. "I lent him my jacket because it was cold."

Kuroo's grandmother turns to Daichi with a patient, sympathetic smile. "You're such a kind young man, Sawamura-kun, but as an omega, I don't think you'll want Tetsurou's scent all over you. It must be distressing."

"I'll make sure to deodorise his jacket before returning it to him. Sorry, Sawamura," Kuroo mumbles sheepishly.

Daichi fights back a frown. It isn't Kuroo's fault that Daichi lent him his jacket and Daichi doesn't _mind_ having Kuroo's scent on him—in fact, he had hoped that some of Kuroo's scent would remain on his jacket when he got it back.

Daichi knows that Kuroo's grandmother has good intentions but her beliefs regarding alphas and omegas were a little old-fashioned, following the mindset that was popular decades ago, that omegas should be protected and alphas were the ones they had to be protected from. Sure, their biological impulses made omegas vulnerable to alphas, but these days, things were different. Daichi knows what he wants, clearly without a doubt, even if Kuroo still shies away from him. He doesn't have to be protected from alphas, the least of them _Kuroo_.

He just wants Kuroo to touch him normally, like a friend, even if Kuroo has no interest in becoming lovers with him. Even if nothing happens between them and Kuroo goes on to find a mate of his choice in the future, at least Daichi would have that, little traces of Kuroo lingering on him instead of the nothing he has now. Being around Kuroo with absolutely no contact between them is driving Daichi crazy. It makes him feel so bare and wretched and _rejected_.

"Don't be," Daichi says softly, wishing that he had turned down Kuroo's invitation and gone straight home. He just wants to crawl into bed and build himself the softest, messiest nest and fall asleep in it without having to worry about Kuroo or his feelings for him.

Kuroo looks crestfallen, worry etched into his furrowed brows as he gazes at Daichi, but his grandmother claps her hands together, getting down to business. "Now," she says, "Tetsurou, you get Sawamura settled in and I'll heat up dinner for the both of you. You boys must be hungry."

"Sawamura's also staying the night," Kuroo tells her as he strides beside her on her way to the kitchen.

"Yes, he should." Kuroo's grandmother nods absently. "It's getting late, dear. I'll set up the guest bedroom for you."

"I can do that, grandma," Kuroo says hurriedly. "As you said, it's getting late so you should go rest."

"Nonsense. An alpha like you preparing a room for an omega? Your scent is lovely, Tetsurou, but you should really think of Sawamura-kun. He won't be able to rest well with the scent of an alpha lingering around."

"I don't mind," Daichi blurts out, following behind the both of them. "I like having Kuroo around."

They turn in unison to look at him, Kuroo in surprise and his grandmother with a considering look on her face. Daichi's face bursts with embarrassed heat as he realises what he just said.

"Hmm," Kuroo's grandmother says thoughtfully and Daichi doesn't even want to know what is going through her head. She must think that he is the most shameless omega she has ever met. Then she turns back to Kuroo and instructs him, "Tetsurou, you can help me get the pillows for Sawamura-kun but I'll make his bed."

"Grandma," Kuroo wheedles. "That's still a lot of work for you."

"That's final, Tetsurou," his grandmother says firmly as she disappears into the kitchen. "Regardless of how close you are, it isn't proper for an alpha and omega to have so much contact with each other before they're bonded. An omega's bed should be especially safe, comfortable, and private."

She leaves the both of them standing there in the hallway and for the first time in a very long while, Daichi feels awkward about being alone with Kuroo. He usually isn't this self-conscious about his designation as an omega, but hearing Kuroo's grandmother recite assumptions about omegas that sound like they were taken straight out of a Shōwa era textbook unearths a deep-seated embarrassment within him.

Maybe this is what Kuroo felt like all the time, overly self-conscious about his designation as an alpha, especially when he is around omegas. He loves his grandmother and was raised by her in the absence of his mother and Daichi has no doubt that a lot of the lessons he learnt about life were taught by her. It isn't a _bad thing_ per se, when a lot of the customs surrounding alphas and omegas in the past revolved around being polite and distant—which some present-day alphas could probably learn from, Daichi thinks—but it is stifling and Daichi feels like just being in Kuroo's presence without a chaperone would scandalise people from the old days.

"I'm sorry about my grandma," Kuroo apologises as he leads Daichi up the stairs to the second storey, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous hand. "She's strict when it comes to proper relations between an alpha and an omega. She's relaxed a lot over the years since times have changed, but there are some things she just can't let go of."

"It's fine," Daichi assures him. "I get it."

"She thinks you're wonderful, for the record," Kuroo adds brightly as he pushes open the door to his room. "She's always asking me how you are once I get home from school, if you're eating right and coping by yourself."

"I'm doing well but I could probably stand to eat more of her home-cooked meals if she's offering," Daichi says pointedly as he follows Kuroo into his room, recalling a bit of conversation from before. "What is this I hear about you denying me her gourmet food?"

Kuroo's cheeks darken slightly. "I didn't want her getting the wrong idea about us."

Daichi frowns. "What wrong idea?"

"That, you know," Kuroo gestures wildly, looking anywhere but at Daichi as he mumbles out, "we're together."

"And what's so wrong about that?" Daichi asks sharply. Being around Kuroo since they left school has left him ruffled and irritable, frustrated at constantly being held at arm's length by Kuroo, even though his scent is so clearly on Kuroo. He wishes he didn't lend Kuroo his jacket after all if it was just going to lead to Kuroo rejecting him outright before he even says anything.

"Because we aren't. Together," Kuroo elaborates, the corners of his mouth turning downwards unhappily.

"But we're friends at least, aren't we?" Daichi says heatedly, his temper flaring before he even registers what he is saying. "I don't care what other people think we are. I just like being around you! Why invite me over if you're this scared about being mistaken for my mate? Is that really such a bad thing to you?"

"Sawamura." Kuroo reaches over and his hand grazes Daichi's shoulder as he shuts the door behind Daichi. As the door clicks shut softly, Daichi realises how loud his voice had gotten in the closed confines of Kuroo's house. He hopes that none of Kuroo's other family members had heard him, but he can't bring himself to worry about that now as he glares up at Kuroo.

Kuroo gazes back at him. Neither of them have reached for the light switch yet and all that illuminates the room is the weak, warm light of the lamplights lining the street outside. Even in that faint light, Kuroo's eyes glint with a hint of gold, unwavering and intense as he looks back at Daichi. Kuroo's scent is all around Daichi, woven into the things that make up his bedroom, his belongings, his wardrobe, his bed, coming strongly from everywhere—except Kuroo himself. He is still wearing Daichi's jacket as he takes a step forward towards Daichi, and then another, until all Daichi can see is the molten gold of his eyes.

They are nearly touching.

"Sawamura, _Daichi,_ " Kuroo speaks, his voice low and cracking. Not angry, but intense and captivating in a way that sends a shiver up Daichi's spine. "You don't know what you do to me. Just having you this close to me makes me—"

"Tetsurou!" The abrupt rapping of knuckles against Kuroo's bedroom door accompanies the firm tones of his grandmother's voice and the both of them jump as the tension in the room shatters like glass against the floor. "Dinner's ready! Is Sawamura-kun in there with you?"

Kuroo steps away from Daichi, throwing a desperate look at him before he shouts, "We'll be out soon!"

" _Now,_ Tetsurou."

Kuroo sighs, running his fingers messily through his hair. It makes his hair stick up in odd angles even more than it already does and Daichi resists the urge to tug a stray spike into place. Kuroo catches him looking and an unreadable expression floods his eyes before he looks away. Kuroo shrugs off Daichi's jacket and brushes past Daichi to open his bedroom door, talking to his grandmother in normal, cajoling tones.

Dinner is stilted, with Kuroo's grandmother popping in once in a while for some thing or another, and the sheets that Daichi falls onto after that are unusually sterile, devoid of any scent but the clean smell of laundry detergent and deodorisers. Even the clothes he had borrowed are scentless, plain and newly bought from the nearest convenience store by Kuroo on his grandmother's orders.

He didn't have a chance to talk to Kuroo after dinner, to finish their conversation and ask Kuroo what he had wanted to say. Things had been... weird then, with the both of them in the dark and their scents so mixed up in each other that Daichi couldn't think straight. Daichi can't even begin to guess at what Kuroo was about to say but he had been so scared of being rejected by Kuroo that he had been high strung and on the defensive the whole time. He doesn't want Kuroo to apologise to Daichi and let him down gently. He doesn't want their friendship to crumble in the face of romantic complications. He doesn't want Kuroo to leave him.

He just wants Kuroo to touch him.

Daichi buries his face in his pillow and inhales deeply, trying to convince himself to go to sleep, and somewhere deep in the soft material, he thinks he finds traces of Kuroo's scent there.

\---

Kuroo brings over Daichi's coffee as he returns from the counter and sets it on the table without a word. Daichi thanks him with a subdued nod, keeping his eyes on his work and not on the restless alpha in front of him.

Daichi didn't get enough sleep last night, spending the whole time tossing and turning in bed, and by the looks of it, neither did Kuroo. The air between them hangs heavy with unspoken words and neither of them knows how to deal with it so here they are, in their favourite cafe, marking students' essays through bleary eyes. If Daichi is more ruthless than usual in his grading, the students will just have to deal with it because he doesn't feel very charitable now as he slashes through poorly-written essays with a red pen.

Across the table, Kuroo shuffles back into his seat with his pen and papers and looks unseeingly at the assignments in front of him, his hand barely moving as it rests on the sheaf of papers. Daichi has felt his eyes on him numerous times in the mere hour that they have been here, but he doesn't look up to meet his gaze.

They had left Kuroo's house in the morning after bumping into each other on the way to the shared bathroom. Kuroo had looked longing, like he wanted to say something to Daichi, but Daichi had been moody, bogged down by the stifling atmosphere in Kuroo's house. He had felt tetchy, insulated in his scent-free clothes and bed, away from everything safe and warm and familiar. Bumping into Kuroo and his comforting scent first thing in the morning had given Daichi the instinctive urge to step forward and bury his face in Kuroo's broad shoulder. But then, he had remembered Kuroo's aversion to touching him and held back, stepping back to let Kuroo enter the washroom first.

After Daichi had stepped out of the bathroom, he had found Kuroo waiting for him outside, stepping into Daichi's path swiftly to block his way as he said, "Let's go to a cafe for breakfast. We can stay there the whole day, get some marking done, drink some coffee, eat some muffins."

That had sounded like a great plan, much better than staying in Kuroo's house for another awkward meal and then leaving for his apartment without having resolved anything between them, so Daichi had agreed. Kuroo had returned his jacket to him before they left, completely scrubbed clean of Kuroo's scent, and Daichi had thrown it over the clothes he had slept in, shuffling to the cafe in his most mismatched attire.

Daichi likes cafes because they always remind him of Kuroo with their warm coffee and chocolate smells and cozy atmosphere. Despite his determination to remain prickly, he finds himself relaxing the longer they stay in the cafe, and the longer he stays in Kuroo's presence. He flips through the essays he had previously marked, correcting the harsher grades and comments apologetically. As he shuffles them into order and reaches into his bag to switch them out for an unmarked pile, Daichi can't help but look up and Kuroo's eyes flick hopefully to him, holding Daichi's gaze meaningfully.

Kuroo isn't as horribly mismatched as Daichi is in his convenience store clothes, bright red school jacket, and training shoes, but he looks ruffled and disheveled, his spikes sagging and lifting at all the wrong angles. Under the ragged curtain of his fringe, his hazel eyes are too bright and alert, every inch of his body on edge and waiting for the moment Daichi looks at him.

Now that he has gotten Daichi's attention, Daichi can't look away. He can't escape this conversation but he thinks he needs something stronger to get him through this. Daichi puts his pen and papers down on the table and rises from the cushy chair with a wince as his back cracks. "I'm going to get a chocolate muffin. Do you want anything?"

"A blueberry muffin," Kuroo says, straightening out of his slouch, and Daichi feels his eyes follow him to the counter.

Daichi takes his time, his hands fumbling with his wallet and messing up the amount he gives to the cashier. He is nervous and jittery, his stomach doing loops and unsettling the coffee in it. He doesn't want to be rejected. He doesn't want things to go back to normal between them when normal means that Kuroo pretends that there is an invisible gap between Daichi and him whenever they are near each other.

But what if the change Daichi wants isn't the same change that Kuroo wants? Daichi will never be able to show his face in Tokyo ever again. He will have to slink back to Miyagi on the earliest train and bury himself in the grounds of his family home and never emerge into the sun again.

His fingers bump against the plates of muffins that the service staff slides over to him, the cutlery clinking loudly against the porcelain surface, and Daichi is only thankful that he isn't handling coffee as he lifts them from the counter. When he turns around, he finds that Kuroo isn't alone anymore.

Daichi should have noticed the people looking at Kuroo, eyeing him up with interest as they usually do whenever Kuroo enters a room, but he had been too busy wallowing in misery to pay attention this time. _Of course_ Kuroo would attract the nearest single omega, and a beta too by the looks of it. They are hovering by Kuroo, a pair of them looking coy and shy as they try to catch a word with Kuroo alone while Daichi is away. Kuroo is talking to them but his eyes are narrowed and disinterested, distracted as he tries to look past them to the counter where Daichi was.

Instinct seizes Daichi, heat flaring up in him, filling him with an emotion he is all too familiar with these few days—no, all these _years_ that he has been with Kuroo. He has never had the best grip on his temper, too fast to burn up and explode, and it propels him towards Kuroo as he storms over, trailing fury in his wake. The omega and beta turn around just as Daichi reaches the table, probably sensing the imminent danger approaching from behind, and Daichi slams the plates on the table, porcelain cracking on glass ominously.

"Sawamura—" Kuroo says in relief, looking up at him with those longing golden eyes, and Daichi seizes Kuroo by the collar of his jacket with both hands, pulling him clear across the table as he narrows his eyes at Kuroo— _his_ alpha—and seals his mouth over his in a kiss.

It doesn't last more than a second or two, but Daichi's tongue finds its way decisively into Kuroo's mouth and Kuroo noticeably _kisses Daichi back_ , and then Daichi lets go of Kuroo. The omega and beta have fled and a good deal of the cafe's occupants are staring and the world suddenly floods back into Daichi's narrowed vision, along with his rationality.

"Daichi—" Kuroo looks dazed, his lips beginning to swell red and plump with the force of their kiss, and Daichi reaches for the nearest something to grab onto, before turning tail and running straight out of the cafe.

What did he do? Daichi doesn't know exactly, but what he does know is that he has to go home to pack and leave for Miyagi _immediately_. He is lucky that he has training shoes on, from yesterday's volleyball practice, and he still has his stamina so he can runs straight to his apartment without stopping.

Something crinkles in his hand as he clenches it and Daichi slows to a walk, looking down dazedly at the crumpled papers in his hand. He hadn't really looked at what he was grabbing as he ran out and he doesn't even know if these are his or Kuroo's students' assignments that he is ruining. Did he drop any on his way out? His responsibility to his students overrides the confusion in his head for a moment and Daichi glances around him worriedly, trying to smooth out and count the remaining papers in his hands. Did he grab a whole class's worth of papers or just a few random sheets?

The back of his jacket catches on something as he turns in a slow circle, his eyes on the ground as he looks for anything remotely resembling a sheet of paper, and Daichi looks back into a whole head of messy black hair, falling every way and into Kuroo's face as he bends over and pants. His hand grips the hem of Daichi's jacket, his fingers wound so tightly in the material that Daichi thinks he might actually claw a hole through it.

"God... damn... it..." Kuroo wheezes, splaying a hand over his heaving chest. He is carrying both of their bags, slung over both shoulders, and there is a paper bag from the cafe hanging off his forearm. "Why did you take off, Sawamura?"

Daichi tugs at his jacket but Kuroo's grip on it is too stubborn, refusing to loosen even as Kuroo straightens up and sweeps his hair back from his face. Daichi's eyes flick to Kuroo's lips for the barest second—he had kissed him there just bare minutes ago—and then he looks up at Kuroo and says, "I have to go home now. Immediately. I forgot to water my plants."

Kuroo's eyes narrow at Daichi—in disbelief? Amusement?—and he replies, "What a coincidence, I happen to have to visit your home too." He shrugs the shoulder that Daichi's bag hangs from. "I have something of yours that I have to return."

"Just hand it over now." Heat floods Daichi's cheeks and he reaches for his bag, only to have Kuroo lean out of the way, blocking Daichi from getting to it.

"No way," Kuroo refuses, dodging Daichi’s hand as he tries to snatch it from him again. "I'm not going to trust it with you again after you left it behind once.” His hand trails from the back of Daichi’s jacket to his sleeve, his fingers catching on the loose material. It is the closest he ever gets to touching Daichi, his fingers brushing Daichi's forearm through his jacket, and Daichi shivers as Kuroo tugs at him like he always does to get his attention. “You left me behind. What was that about?”

Daichi averts his gaze, but there isn't really anywhere to look with Kuroo here before him, demanding his entire attention. “I’m sorry I kissed you,” Daichi mumbles out, the papers in his hand crinkling again as he tightens his grip on them.

Kuroo's eyes soften. “I wasn’t looking for an apology for that. Look, let’s go back to your place." He glances around. They are still stopped in the middle of the street and passer-bys throw them curious looks as they veer around the both of them. "We probably have a lot to talk about.”

That was the plan, before it all careened off course in the cafe, and Daichi nods, his heart sinking to his feet.

\---

"So," Kuroo starts the instant Daichi closes the door behind them, shrugging off their bags and dropping them on the floor before he turns around to face Daichi, "what happened back there?"

Daichi still doesn't want to talk about it, even though it is high time the both of them finally did, and he brushes past Kuroo in the cramped space of his one-room apartment, not wanting to have this conversation while trapped against his own front door. He sits at the low table occupying the middle of his apartment and Kuroo follows suit, the both of them taking their usual spots at the table.

Kuroo has been to Daichi's apartment far more times than Daichi has been to his house, which Daichi hadn't thought about much before today. Sometimes they drink together or just mark papers or Kuroo hangs around as Daichi goes through some mundane chore or another. Despite what Kuroo's grandmother says about omegas and their spaces, Daichi likes having Kuroo around and near him, right in the centre of his space where he belongs.

He _likes_ Kuroo—and it is time he faces that once and for all.

"I got jealous," Daichi admits aloud, finally coming to terms with the fact that he doesn't want anyone hanging around Kuroo with romantic intentions because he wants Kuroo all to himself.

"Of who?" Kuroo asks, drumming his fingers idly against the surface of the table.

"Of them, the omega and beta who were talking to you back at the cafe." Daichi bites his lip and pushes on. "Of Ai, from the family restaurant we always eat at. Of your students, because I _know_ that some of them aren't staying back just to ask you questions about the syllabus." There are so many other instances that Daichi can name but he stops there because the more he says, the pettier and shallower he feels.

Kuroo raises an eyebrow, genuinely puzzled. "Why would you be jealous of them?"

"Because I like you," Daichi says bluntly, tired of dancing around the issue. He drops his gaze to the surface of the table, his fingers tangling up with themselves as he continues, laying his confessions and fears out bare between them, "I want to spend more time with you. I want to always be with you. I don't want you to leave me for someone else."

"Daichi." Kuroo touches a hand tentatively to Daichi's knotted fingers and a jolt runs through Daichi at the sudden skin-on-skin contact between them, startling him into looking up. The longing is back in Kuroo's eyes, his gaze heavy and golden with emotion as he looks back at Daichi. “I don't know how you thought I could ever leave you. I'm already yours if you want me."

Daichi's breath stops in his throat and he swallows weakly, blinking too fast up at Kuroo as he asks, "What?"

Kuroo runs a fingertip delicately over Daichi's knuckle and coming from Kuroo, who never ever touches Daichi if he can help it, it feels incredibly intimate. "Didn't you know that I've been courting you all this time?"

" _What?_ " Daichi frowns, playing back all their interactions over the years in his head. Modern courtships between alphas and omegas were fun and playful, and the serious ones went into it with the thought of mating for life. But one key aspect of them had always been the touching. It didn't need to be anything heavy, just light caresses or brushes would do, or even just simple hand-holding. What was important was the scent-marking, alphas and omegas claiming each other by leaving their scent on their desired partner. Daichi had done his best to leave traces of his scent on Kuroo, indicating his interest so strongly that it had almost been desperate, but Kuroo had never reciprocated. He thought that Kuroo just didn't like him in that way.

"Courting. I've been courting you since university, Daichi." Kuroo frowns back, his fingers lightly skimming the back of Daichi's hands. "Who do I spend the most time with? We work together, eat together, and hang out together even on our free days. I don't think we've left each other's side since then."

It is true. Daichi sees Kuroo all the time, on weekdays in school and out of school, and even on weekends when they have no reason to meet. He doesn't know many people in Tokyo, apart from those whom Kuroo already knows, but Kuroo has plenty of friends and family to hang out with. Yet, he is always with Daichi.

"You didn't say anything about it." Daichi's frown deepens.

"I didn't want to pressure you if you weren't interested."

"But you didn't touch me at all!" Daichi bursts out. "I thought you didn't like me at all since you never seemed to want to touch me."

Kuroo's hand stutters on Daichi's and he looks down in a nervous flickering of his eyes before he looks up at Daichi awkwardly. "I thought you would be uncomfortable with it, since I'm an alpha and all. Grandma said you would."

"I'm not," Daichi says, turning his hand over until it is palm to palm with Kuroo, his fingers fitting perfectly into the gaps between Kuroo's fingers. "Kuroo, I _want_ you to touch me."

Kuroo startles at the sudden full contact between their hands but he doesn't pull away, looking keenly at their hands pressed flat against each other. He folds his fingers down and Daichi follows suit, until their fingers are interlocked with each other in a handhold. Then Kuroo lifts his eyes to meet Daichi's steady gaze, almost shy as he asks, "Can I hold you like this?"

Daichi nods, his hummingbird heart fluttering hard in his chest.

Kuroo lifts their joined hands, pulling Daichi's hand towards him. Ever so gently, he pushes back Daichi's sleeve, exposing a bare stretch of skin on his forearm, and Daichi traps a soft, startled noise in his throat as Kuroo raises Daichi’s hand to his lips and kisses the inside of his wrist tenderly. He sounds braver, his voice barely trembling as he murmurs his question against Daichi's skin, "Can I touch you like this?"

"Yes," Daichi tells him, his voice all but gone, swallowed down into some yawning void within him. Deeper within him, his heart goes still as if listening for the sound of Kuroo's as it speaks to him.

Kuroo rises to his knees, his lithe figure bridging the span of the low table easily, closing the distance between them in an instance, and all Daichi sees is gold as Kuroo leans over him, blocking out the light and filling Daichi's vision with him and only him as he asks, "Daichi, can I kiss you?"

He has more manners than Daichi to at least ask and Daichi's only reply is to tilt his face up to Kuroo. Lips touch his tentatively, a careful hand coming up to cup his jaw, and there isn't any of that jealous possessiveness and intensity that had fuelled the kiss at the cafe, just the slow touching of lips for the second time, a confirmation, an affirmation between them that this is what they both want.

Daichi's heart sings, his nerves humming with joy, and he sighs blissfully against Kuroo's lips, shutting his eyes and revelling in the presence of Kuroo, his closeness and his scent all around him. _Finally,_ he thinks and it is like everything he has ever wanted and had already had all at once.

It is funny how it took Daichi's self-control breaking like a dam under pressure to make him realise that what Kuroo said was true. Even if he hadn't touched Daichi, he has always been near, protecting and courting Daichi in his own little ways. But Daichi had been too wrapped up in minding the distance between them, the absence of touch, to realise that Kuroo was showing his affection in other ways. He has been incredibly short-sighted and Daichi's cheeks heat up in embarrassment over that realisation as Kuroo keeps kissing him like he never wants to stop.

Eventually they have to break apart for practicality's sake because Kuroo has been leaning over the table the whole time and the way they are going, Daichi fears that Kuroo might break his only table. Daichi licks his lips absently as Kuroo pulls back, chasing the taste of Kuroo lingering on his lips, and Kuroo's eyes catch that bit of movement hungrily.

Kuroo swipes his tongue over his own lips, his eyes heavy-lidded and deeply satisfied as he murmurs dreamily, "You taste even sweeter than you smell."

It takes a moment for Daichi to process that and he can't help but laugh. "Now, if you had used that line on me earlier, I would have definitely figured out that you were courting me."

Kuroo smiles wryly. "I never had a taste of you before. But you have no idea what your scent does to me, you know. When you gave me your jacket yesterday, I wanted to kiss you so badly and I was suffering all the way home."

"Is that why you invited me home last night?" Daichi raises an eyebrow at Kuroo, teasing.

"I did want you to help with our leftovers situation as well," Kuroo says shiftily, not meeting Daichi's eyes.

Daichi takes a chance on the table's strength and leans over the table one more time to peck Kuroo on the cheek, giddy in his new freedom around Kuroo. "Now you can kiss me all you want." _And I can touch you all I want._

Kuroo blushes, a light dusting of pink coating his cheeks. Still, there is a hint of hesitation in his eyes as he gazes back at Daichi. "And you're okay with this. All of this."

Daichi squeezes Kuroo's hand in his. "I want this. Don't shy away from me anymore. I have to keep you close so that I won't be beating off your suitors with a stick."

Kuroo raises an expressive eyebrow at him. "Oh, you have _no_ idea."

"What?"

"Nothing." Kuroo squeezes Daichi's hand back. "It'll be much easier for me if I can keep you close too. For safety's sake."

Eventually, Daichi will find out what Kuroo means by that, but for now, there are more pressing matters at hand. Like finding out where the paper bag of muffins Kuroo had brought from the cafe went. Or counting the number of students' assignments they have with them and making sure they didn't lose one along the way. Or, the most important one, making full use of his new relationship status with Kuroo to lean against him, his body so warm under Daichi as he rests his head on Kuroo's shoulder, their hands still locked tightly in each other's, palm to palm and fingers fitted together, and their scents mingling deeply as Daichi finally knows what it is like to hold Kuroo close.

**Author's Note:**

> The _mimosa pudica_ , also known as a touch-me-not, means a secret love and sensitivity in the hanakotoba c:
> 
> They're both certified overthinking disasters.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find me here: [tumblr](http://kythen.tumblr.com) / [twitter](http://twitter.com/catcrowcalls)


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